The institution of science is undergoing a catastrophic decline. The reason behind this is simple: it is no longer a growing economy. Public funding for science is frozen or being cut, private R&D labs are shuttering their doors, and companies are increasingly concerned with quarterly results at the expense of long term research.
And why should it be otherwise? Science has never payed off as a logical financial investment. It is the riskiest of gambles by definition, requiring inordinate expenditures of time and resources in the present for a chance at some distant breakthrough decades or even centuries in the future. Institutional science is not an economically sound choice in the best of times, let alone during the current span of never-ending recessions.
The truth is, science is a creative pursuit much like the arts. Like the creation of literary masterpieces or profound paintings, it has never made economic sense in the present. Only afterwards, once the impact can be seen, do we understand its significance. And that is why it will always be worth pursuing.
The reality is that, increasingly, we live in a society that does not understand this philosophy of life. People only care about how they will survive tomorrow, and who can blame them, as the world economy gets ever more competitive and cut-throat.
Increasingly, it has become clear that our society does not reflect one designed with its own best interests at heart. Why this is, how it happened, and how we can change it, will be the greatest challenge of our lifetimes.